Over 60,000 records have been deposited into ComBase, describing how food environments, such as temperature, pH, and water activity, as well as other factors (e.g. preservatives and atmosphere) affect the growth of bacteria.

Each data record shows users how bacteria populations change for a particular combination of environmental factors. Mathematical models (the ComBase Predictor and Food models) were developed on systematically generated data to predict how various organisms grow or survive under various conditions.